


The Meeting of Fire and Ice

by Aurone



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Magic, Angst, Anxiety, Depression, Domestic Violence, Familiar Adam, Familiar Keith, Familiars, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mage Lance, Mage Shiro, Mages, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Keith (Voltron), Romantic Soulmates, Soul Bond, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:13:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27748063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurone/pseuds/Aurone
Summary: In this world, there are mages and there are familiars.  Familiars have the ability to use lower magics and to shapeshift.  Mages can use higher magics but only after they find their familiar.  Each person has a soulmate, a mage or familiar they are supposed to bond to.  It's a soulbond that allows them to feel each other's emotions and talk mind to mind.  The soulbond can only be broken by death and often the other half of the bond soon follows.Lance is a mage.  He is out in the market one afternoon when he feels a tug on his soul.  At the end of the tug, he finds his familiar, a man with beautiful purple eyes and long dark hair.  But instead of it being a happy occasion like it should be it turns into a tragedy when his soulmate turns and runs away from him.   Why did Lance's soulmate run from him?  And will Lance be able to find a man whose name he doesn't even know?
Relationships: Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 121





	1. The First Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the long note, but here we go. I'm still alive. Sorry for the radio silence but the pandemic has been hard on my depression and my motivation to write just died. Then school started back (I teach college) and I became so busy that I haven't had time to write. We've had so much extra work to do because of the pandemic. I know I should be working on one of my WIPs like Connlaodh Flower but this story has been taking up all the space in my brain so here it is. I almost have four chapters of it written so far so I hope to post this one on a bimonthly basis. (We'll see if I can manage a schedule for once in my life). I haven't abandoned any of my other stories and I promise I will return to them soon. 
> 
> Klance is the major pairing in this story. Shiro/Adam is a background established pairing. They are in the story quite a bit but they are not the main focus. The rating may change on this story if I decide to include smut. I am not far enough along in the story to tell if I will add it or not. I will add tags as needed but be aware that there is domestic/physical abuse in this story. If that is something that triggers or bothers you please do not read this story. I want everyone to be mentally safe. Later there will be some war-typical violence. This story is a little dark and little angsty, but I hope to include some fluff in it as well. Now on to the story. Please Enjoy.

**Background:** This is a world of magic. There are two classes of magic users, mages and familiars. Mages are capable of high magics but only after they bond to their familiar. Familiars can use lower magics and shapeshift into a specific animal form, but they keep their human intelligence when turned. Mages and Familiars can bond in one of two ways. Everyone has a soulmate. A mage and familiar who are soulmates create a soulbond (this happens naturally when the two get close to each other for the first time). This bond cannot be broken except in death and if one dies usually the other follows soon after especially if their soulbond was strong. If soul bonded pairs are separated for a long time they become physically ill and it limits their magic abilities. Being soul bonded allows one to communicate mind to mind with your soulmate and to feel their feelings. Soulbonds are usually romantic pairings especially if the mage and familiar are strong magic users. The other way mages and familiars can bond is through something called a contract. It allows a mage user to use high magics but the bond is not as close as a soul bond. They usually cannot communicate mind to mind or feel each other's feelings. A contract is a spell that can easily be created or broken. Contracts are usually not romantic pairings they are pairings of either convenience or for political reasons. 

****

Lance picked up a blue topaz stone. He held it up to the sunlight and looked through the stone, checking its clarity.

_ I need a new focus. It feels weird using the family sapphire. I do not want something to happen to it, and maybe if I had a good focus stone I could finally do the magics that father wants me to do.  _

Lance sighed and put the stone back on the display. He was moving to pick up the stone next to it when he suddenly felt a magical pull on his body. His hand froze and his eyes snapped up from the display. He looked around the market, seeking the source of the sensation. 

_ Is someone casting on me?  _

Lance shivered as he felt the magic crawl over his skin. It rolled through his body, sinking into his magical channels. 

_ Is it. . . I. . . Gods this hurts. What is going on?  _

He clutched a hand over his chest, it felt like someone was trying to extract his heart from his rib cage. He followed the pull through the rows of stalls, past the gem merchants, and towards the more mundane stalls featuring food and lower grade cloth and clothes. He found himself nearly running through the market, earning the ire of the people he passed on the street. As he rounded one of the market stalls, he found himself looking into the most fantastic eyes that he had ever seen. They seemed almost violet in the sunlight. Then he felt it. It clicked into place with almost an audible sound. Lance's eyes widened and he gasped as the magic overwhelmed him. 

_ Oh.  _

The magic continued to course through him, lighting up his magical channels. He gasped in pain as he fell to his knees. His breathing became rapid as his vision started to darken around the edges. It took all of his will power just to stay conscious. He looked up at the dark-haired man whose eyes were filled with something that Lance couldn’t define. Staring into the man’s eyes, Lance finally realized what had happened. 

_ He is my familiar. Bless the Gods, I just bonded to my familiar. I finally found my soulmate. And he is beautiful.  _

Lance held out a hand to his familiar, beckoning him closer. 

_ Please. . . I need. . . you.  _

He frowned in confusion as he watched his familiar stumble away from him. Lance dropped his hand to his side. 

_ What? What is wrong. Why? _

Lance reached out towards him again in a bodily plea for him to stay, but it was to no avail. Lance’s familiar turned on his heel and ran away. Lance could only kneel in the street, helpless, watching as his soulmate left the market. A tear worked its way down his face. 

_ Who runs from their soulmate? Father’s right. I’m worthless. So worthless that not even my soulmate wants me. If he does not want me, then what is there left for me?  _

The pain finally overwhelmed Lance, and he let the darkness overtake him. He slumped to the ground unconscious and alone without his mate. 

A few moments later a figure knelt beside Lance.

Shaking Lance’s shoulder, he said, “Sir? Sir, are you alright? Wake up.”

Lance didn’t stir.

_ I wonder what happened to him? The only time I have seen something like this is magic overuse or bonding. I did not sense a lot of magic being used in the area today so it must be a bonding, but where is his soulmate?  _

He looked up as he heard another person approach. He recognized the small figure that stepped up beside him. 

He asked, “Pidge, did you see what happened?”

Pidge nodded. “It looked like he bonded with his familiar.”

“What happened to the familiar?”

“They ran.”

“What do you mean they ran?”

“I mean the familiar took one look at Lance and ran from him, Shiro.”

“That is odd. Most bondings activate a protective instinct in familiars. Usually, you cannot pry them from their mage’s side.”

_ I wonder what happened to override that in his familiar. _

Shiro asked, “Pidge, did you say you know this mage?”

“Yes. That is Lance McClain. He is from one of the high noble mage families. Hunk does a lot of magical metalwork for his father.”

“Huh. Did you see the familiar?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“And you’re not going to like it.”

Shiro shook his head. “No. It could not have been. He would not do something like that, would he?”

“Afraid so.”

“I am going to kill him when I get home. Everyone knows you do not just leave your mage like that. They take the brunt of the magical backlash of the bonding. It is the familiar’s job to take care of them. I taught him better than that.”

“I do not know what to tell you, Shiro. He bonded to Lance and then took off. I do not know where he went but he left Lance here, alone and vulnerable.”

Shiro sighed, “Well, we cannot just leave him here.”

“What are you going to do? Carry him home?”

“Do you know where he lives?”

“No. Hunk . . .”

Pidge was interrupted by a feminine voice, “What in the Lower Realms did you do to my brother?”

She ran to her brother’s side and crouched down beside him. “Lance? Lance? Are you okay? Please wake up.”

Shiro said, “He is probably going to be out a while.”

She looked up at Shiro and asked, “What happened?”

She thought  _ Is that not General Shirogane? What is he doing here? _

Shiro replied, “He bonded to his familiar. That tends to knock a mage out, especially if they bond to a powerful familiar.”

She asked, “He bonded?”

Pidge replied, “He did. I saw it happen.”

She asked, “Then where is his familiar? Should they not be here?”

Shiro nodded. “He should, but. . .”

Pidge finished, “He ran.”

She asked, “Why?”

Shiro shook his head. “We do not know, but I am going to find out. However, first I want to help you get your brother back home. He should not be out here like this. Did you come by carriage?”

She shook her head. “No. Lance and I walked. We are not allowed out often and like to stretch our legs when we get the opportunity. I could hire one to take us home.”

Shiro said, “That will not be necessary. I can carry him home for you.”

“But, General Shirogane, it is a long way. We live in the noble district.”

Shiro raised his eyebrows and replied, “I know.”

“If you still want to help us, I will not decline. Thank you.”

“You seem to know my name, so may I ask yours?”

Veronica held out her hand to Shiro. “Oh, excuse my bad manners. My name is Veronica McClain and that is my brother, Lance.”

Shiro kissed her hand. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I just wish it was under better circumstances.”

“Me too. You can follow me and I will lead you to our townhouse.”

Shiro nodded and picked Lance up off the ground. 

Once the boy was settled on his back, he turned to Pidge, “Bye, Pidge. I will see you later.”

Pidge replied, “Let me know how it all turns out.”

Shiro replied, “I will.” as he followed Veronica out of the market and onto the streets of Balmera. 

Forty-five minutes later, a winded Shiro stood next to Veronica as she knocked on the door to her families’ home. A maid opened the door.

She said, “Mistress Veronica. We did not expect to see you back so early.”

Veronica said, ‘Well, something happened.”

The maid looked past Veronica to see Shiro carrying Lance.

The maid asked, “What happened to young master Lance?”

Veronica said, “He has magic fatigue. We need to get him inside to his room.”

The maid replied, “Of course.”

She stepped aside. Veronica and Shiro stepped into the hallway.

Veronica said, “I will show you to his room.”

Shiro nodded. He followed Veronica up a set of stairs leading from the entranceway to a room that had a wall of windows facing the street. He gently laid Lance on the bed in the middle of the room. 

Shiro asked, “Is there anything else I can do for you and Lance?”

Veronica shook her head, “Not unless you know who his soulmate is. This is going to devastate him. It is not healthy to be away from your soulmate physically or mentally but for Lance. . . it is going to be especially bad.”

“Why?”

“Let’s just say that our father has not exactly been kind to Lance. He is going to take this as confirmation that our father is right. That he is useless.”

“I will find him.”

“General, I appreciate everything you have done for Lance today, but how could you possibly. . .”

“I will find him and I will bring him here.”

Veronica nodded. “If you insist, I would appreciate that very much. I know our father will not be in a hurry to find Lance’s soulmate. He likes to contract out his children for political and monetary gain. It is part of the reason he is wroth at Lance. Lance is not as powerful as the rest of us. His command of magic is average at best. He has the potential but he cannot access it. Father believes that Lance is not trying, but I think something is blocking Lance from reaching his magic. Either way, for father, that means he cannot make as good a match with Lance as he has with some of my siblings.”

“That is. . .”

“Terrible? I know. I just managed to escape. I found my soulmate before he could contract me out. He has never forgiven me for it. He may do something to keep Lance from getting to his. Do not let his soulmate give up, General. I swear no matter what Lance says or what our father says, Lance wants his soulmate. He wants, no  _ needs, _ his soulmate desperately.”

“I understand. I will do everything I can to bring them together. I promise.”

“Thank you.”

Shiro nodded and left the room. He saw himself back down the stairs and out of the house. He began his long trek back to his home in the less pretentious part of Balmera. 

_ He had better be there when I get there. I am so disappointed in him.  _

***

Shiro did not even flinch when he saw the big black jaguar sitting on his doorstep.

Shiro sighed, “Keith.”

Shiro unlocked the door. The jaguar slinked through the door ahead of Shiro heading straight to his room.

Shiro said, “You need to turn back so I can talk to you. I know what happened. We definitely need to discuss your behavior today and what in the Lower Realms to do about it.”

The jaguar growled.

“Not particularly concerned with how you feel right now, Keith. I just had to carry an unconscious mage back to his home in nobles square because his familiar left him out cold and stranded on the streets of the market.”

The jaguar mewled. 

“You should feel bad about it, Keith. How do you think that boy is going to feel when he wakes up alone? Without his familiar? Without his soulmate? You know what kind of mental and physical toll that kind of separation takes on mates. You’ve heard Adam speak of it enough.”

When the jaguar didn’t reply, Shiro walked to his brother’s room. 

Looking into the room, he saw that the jaguar was sitting on the bed with his head on his paws.

“You are that upset?”

The jaguar just looked at him.

“So upset that you cannot turn back?”

The jaguar looked away from Shiro to stare at the wall.

“Well, when you do turn back. We need to talk. You messed up today, Keith. And it is going to be difficult to set this right.”

The jaguar continued to ignore him. Shiro sighed and left the jaguar to its own devices. 

A few hours later, Shiro looked up from the book he was reading in the living room to find his brother, Keith, standing in the doorway.

Shiro said, “So you finally turned back?”

Keith raspily replied, “Yeah.”

“Hmm.”

“I know, Shiro. You think I was wrong. That I should not have run. And maybe I should not have left him there, but. . .”

“But?”

“I do not need a mage. I am fine by myself. And I am sure he deserves better. Better than an anomaly.”

“But he is your soulmate, Keith. Your souls are literally connected to each other. As powerful as you are, you will probably have a really strong bond with him. It is not like you can break it. Are you really willing to live with the constant fatigue and magical limitations that being away from your mage causes? You may not need him but that boy needs you.”

“I am sure he does not.”

Shiro’s dark eyes pierced into Keith’s. “You do not know because you were not there.”

Keith flinched. 

Shiro continued, “But I was. And I talked to his sister. What you did today is going to wound that boy in a way you may not be able to fix.”

“What do you mean?”

“Evidently, his home life is not great.”

“Oh, the poor noble boy who has probably gotten everything he ever wanted.”

Shiro, looking disappointed, said, “Maybe materially, but emotionally he has been tortured by his father all his life. Money is not everything, Keith. Would you trade Adam and me for money?”

“Of course not.”

“Then why would you judge someone by the money they do or do not have? Being a noble does not automatically make your life easy. And now you have added to his trauma by leaving him. What is he supposed to think when even his soulmate abandons him? Anyone would be hurt.”

“But Shiro. . . “

Shiro shook his head. “Do not but Shiro me. You are in the wrong on this one Keith. You know I love you, but you need to make this right. You are going to go see him tomorrow even if I have to drag you there.”

“You know where he lives?”

“Did you not hear me say that I carried him home?”

“No. . . I. . . was not processing things too well earlier.”

“Well, hear me now. We  **are** going to go see him tomorrow. You  **will** apologize to him and fix this mess you have caused.”

Keith scowled at Shiro.

“Do not scowl at me. I am not the one who ran from my soulmate today.”

Keith, giving in, sighed, “Fine. I will go with you tomorrow.” 

Shiro watched as Keith stalked back to his room. 

Shiro thought  _ Well, tomorrow is going to be interesting. Wonder what Adam will think about all this? _


	2. The Deneid Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro and Keith go to the McClains to call on Lance. Lance's father stands in their way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an emotionally heavy, angsty chapter. It is one of the chapters the abuse tag is for. Lance's Father is not a nice man. 
> 
> Note: Italicized words are a person's own thoughts. Bold Italicized words are the thoughts of their bonded. Not every thought a person has is broadcasted to their bonded's mind.

The Next Morning. . . 

Keith walked into the kitchen wearing his favorite ragged tunic and black tights. 

Shiro took one look at him and sighed. “Go put on something more appropriate.”

Keith, crossing his arms, asked, “What is wrong with what I am wearing? I do not have to dress special for him, do I? It is not like I care about impressing him or anything.”

Shiro sighed. “Keith. You are meeting your fucking soulmate for the first time after you have put him through the Lower Realms. Go put on something nicer. He deserves at least that after how you acted yesterday. Besides, we are going to the noble district. I would prefer that you are not mistaken for a thief while we are there.”   
Keith huffed but went back to his room. He scowled at his wardrobe. 

_So what does one wear when meeting their soulmate for the first time under such circumstances? I should have bought new clothes when Shiro told me to._

Shiro called out, “Wear the purple one. It is the highest quality tunic you own plus it is your least worn.”

Keith sighed and pulled the tunic out of his wardrobe. 

_I do not know why Adam insisted on buying me this purple monstrosity. It was so expensive--purple is such a hard color to come by. But I guess I will do what Shiro asks, he is still really mad. In fact, I have never seen him mad like this before. I really fucked up this time. I thought Adam was going to flat out kill me at dinner last night._

Keith finished getting dressed and walked back into the kitchen. Shiro was already sitting at the table breaking his fast. 

“That looks better,” Shiro said as he pointed to the seat across from him where he had already laid out breakfast for Keith.

Keith pulled the chair out and slumped into the seat. He numbly began eating whatever Shiro had set out for him. 

Shiro said, “As soon as you are finished we will go to the McClains.”

“McClains?”

“Your mage’s name is Lance McClain if you care.”

Keith flinched. “Lance, huh? Is it far?”

“It will probably take a good 45 minutes to an hour to get to the McClain townhouse.”

“Where the fuck does he live?”

“Lance’s family is high nobility, Keith. I told you that yesterday. The McClains live in Nobles’ square.”

“You carried him all the way there, yesterday?”

“Not like I had a choice. Someone had to clean up your mess.”

Keith winced. Shiro finished eating and cleaned up his plates. Keith quickly finished his meal. Keith was walking to the sink with his dishes when thoughts that were not his own bombarded his head. 

**_I am worthless. Not even my soulmate wants me. He abandoned me before he could even talk to me. I. . . Father’s right. I am not good at anything and no one is ever going to want me. What am I going to do? There is nothing left._ ** **_I have never even heard of a familiar running away before. Am I that bad of a mage?_ **

The thoughts startled Keith so badly that he dropped the dishes and clutched at his head. “Dear Gods. Make it stop.”

Shiro rushed over to his brother. “What is wrong?”

“There are thoughts in my head that do not belong to me. What is happening to me, Shiro? They are so loud. It hurts.”

“Lance must have regained consciousness.”

Keith looked at Shiro confused, “What does that have to do. . .”

“Bonded mages and familiars can talk to one another in their minds. Comes in really handy when familiars are in their animal forms.”

“Does that mean I can talk to him?”

“You should be able to.”

Keith tentatively sent a thought back to the mage _Hello, Lance?_

When Keith got no response, he said, “Either he is ignoring me, Shiro, or he cannot hear me.”

“It is possible that he cannot hear you. Sometimes it takes time for the bond to work appropriately in both directions. You will probably start feeling his emotions soon. So I would prepare for that. I doubt he feels good right now.”

Keith just shook his head. “I guess I deserve this, huh?”

Shiro softened, “No one deserves what the two of you are going through. Let us get going and fix it.”

Keith finally voiced the fear which had been the real reason he had run the day before. “What if he does not want me because I am an anomaly?”

“I do not think he is going to care.”

“But what if. . .”

“We will deal with that if it happens. Right now we just need to get you to Lance. Before either of you comes to more harm from the separation.”

Keith, thinking of the words in his head, “Yeah, before he does something I regret.”

Shiro looked at Keith with wide eyes, “That bad?”

Keith nodded and then quietly asked, “Do you actually think he will forgive me, want me?”

“From everything I have heard so far about him? I think he will. I think he needs you, Keith, probably as much as you need him.”

Keith scoffed.

_I do not need anyone but Shiro. I definitely do not need some mage I do not know._

Shiro just shook his head. He motioned his brother to follow him as he walked through the living room and out the front door. Keith balked at leaving the house.

_Oh, Gods. I am actually going to have to meet my mage. I cannot . . I do not. . ._

Shiro walked back to Keith. Using his prosthetic arm, he grabbed Keith’s arm and led him out of the house. Keith squirmed and resisted as Shiro led his brother out of their neighborhood and towards Nobles’ square but to no avail. Shiro's grip with his prosthetic arm was like a vice. After a while, Shiro released Keith allowing him to walk on his own although Shiro kept a careful eye on him in case he decided to run again. It took them the better part of an hour to get to the McClains’ townhouse. As they passed under the windows of Lance’s room, Keith looked up and met the blue eyes he had run from the day before. Their bright blue hue dragged him in. In their depths, he could see so much pain and hope. Ashamed, Keith could no longer hold Lance’s gaze. His eyes flitted away for a moment. He felt something stir in his chest. An instinct that he had buried under the fear and indifference. The feelings cascaded through his body taking Keith's breath away.

_Mine. He is my mage. And I hurt him. I need to. . . I messed up did I not? Shiro’s right, again. I never should have left him yesterday. He needed me and I just left him, what kind of familiar am I? A poor one. I need to fix this. I need to protect him. I. . . fuck. What is wrong with me? I do not even know him? Is this the familiar instinct that you always hear about?_

Keith growled.

**_Is that him? Please Gods, let it be him. Did. . . did he really come back for me? Does he really want me? Please, please, please, help me._ **

Keith’s heart broke a little at Lance’s words in his head. Keith forced his eyes back to Lance and held Lance’s gaze as he walked in front of the townhouse. He could see the streaks where tears had run down the mage’s face. Lance’s stare was intense as he watched Keith. His hands were pressed to the glass of the window as if somehow the motion would allow him to get closer to Keith. Keith reached out towards the window as if he could touch his mate. He felt a need to comfort the mage well up inside him. _I feel so weird. I have never felt like this before. Is it some side effect of the bond?_

Keith clenched his fist as he and Shiro approached the front door of the McClain residence. Shiro knocked on the door. The same maid from the day before answered the door. 

She asked, “May I help you?”

Shiro replied, “Will you please tell the master of the house that General Shirogane and his brother are here to call on Master Lance McClain?”

She nodded and said, “Just a moment, sirs.”

She closed the door. Shiro and Keith stood at the door in anxious silence while they waited to be allowed entrance. All of sudden the door jerked open, in the doorway stood an angry man. 

He asked, “What business do you have with my son?”

Shiro said, “Master McClain, my brother bonded with your son yesterday. There was a miscommunication and they were not allowed to meet. We respectfully request that you would allow us to call upon your son to introduce him to his familiar.”

“No.”

Shiro looked taken aback, “No? But sir. . .”

“You cannot see my son. I will not have him associating with people such as yourselves. You are just not good enough for my boy.”

Keith started, “What!?”

Shiro put a hand out to silence Keith. In the silence, they all heard a thump from inside the house. The man turned and looked at something in the hallway. 

A soft voice floated through the air, “Father, please. . .”

Keith gasped at the sense of panic that rolled through him.

_That must be him. Is he hurt? Gods, He is right there. Dammit, why won’t his father let us in? I need to get to him, now._

He started to move forward to push Lance’s father out of the way, but Shiro grabbed his arm with an iron grip, keeping him from being able to move. 

Shiro, taking a deep breath, said, “Sir, I am sure that you do not intend to keep your son from his bonded? You do know what kind of physical and mental harm that will do to him.”

“He will be fine. You will not be allowed into this house. Good day, gentlemen.”

The man slammed the door shut. 

Keith looked over at Shiro and growled. “Now what?”

Shiro looked dumbfounded at the door. “I. . .”

Lance’s panic and desperation collided with Keith’s new protectiveness inside Keith’s head. He looked at Shiro, his eyes wide with emotions he could not explain or control. “You brought me all the way here, and we cannot even get in. All I can do is look at him through the window! I need to get to him, Shiro. Now! He needs me. How dare his father keep me away from my bonded! It’s not right, Shiro! I can feel him. He is in pain. . . I need to get to him. We have to get Lance out of there!"

_I need to protect him._

Keith fell to his knees on the front steps trying to reign in the unfamiliar emotions rolling inside him. He was dismayed to find tears rolling down his cheeks. “Shiro, help me, please. I cannot. . .”

Shiro was taken aback at the intensity of Keith’s reaction to being denied access to Lance. 

_I figured he would just walk away and I would never get him to try again. Where is the boy who did not want a mage? What happened between then and now? What is he feeling or what is Lance feeling that has got him so worked up? Could this be because of the familiar instincts they always talk about? Gods, I did not know they were so strong. Adam never talks about it._

Keith felt his feline ears pop out of his head. He growled low in his throat in displeasure. His mate was in trouble. He could feel his need, his hurt. Keith needed to help him. He looked up to the window to find it empty.

_Where did he go? Why is he not there? I need to see him. Need to know he is alright._

Shiro, noticing that Keith was starting to shift, said “Woah, Keith, calm down. We will figure this out.”

“How? He needs me now, you cannot. . . you do not. There is so much sadness, Shiro, so much pain. I do not know how he can breathe through it let alone live with it. And I. . . I caused it. This would not be a problem if I had not left him yesterday.”

“It will be okay. Take a deep breath, buddy. You do not want to shift here. That will not do us any good. Do you really want Lance to see you shift for the first time like this?”

Keith shook his head and then took a few deep breaths and centered himself. It used up every bit of control that he had but he managed not to shift. He stood up and started to move back towards the door. Shiro, putting an arm around Keith’s shoulders, moved him further away from the front of the house. They stood beneath Lance’s windows. 

Shiro said, “I do not think it would be good to confront Master McClain right now. Lance is too weak to help us or even get out on his own. I think all that it would accomplish is getting us detained in jail for the evening.”

Keith asked, “Then how are we going to fix this? If his father will not let us in and he hardly ever lets Lance out, how will we get to him?”

“He has got to let him leave the house sometime. We have just got to figure out a time and place where you two can meet outside that house.”

“Where? When?”

“I do not know yet. Maybe his sister can help us. She seemed determined to help Lance find you. Right now all we can do is go home and regroup. I promise you we will figure something out. I will not let you be separated from your bonded.”

Keith sadly nodded and started to follow Shiro down the street. 

**_No. Wait. Do not leave me again. Please. I need you._ **

The words floating through his head caused Keith to look back up at the window. Lance was back in the window seat looking down on him. Keith mouthed at him, “I will be back. I will come for you.”

Lance’s eyes widened and he nodded. More tears slipped down his face. He smiled a sad smile at his familiar as he watched him walk away from him again. 

****

**Lance's POV**

Lance sighed as he looked at the street below him. 

_All I can think about are his eyes. Why did he not want me? And I cannot actually do anything today to distract myself. I can barely move. Father was so mad I could not practice today._

Lance rubbed the new bruise on his arm that his father had left. After his father had stormed out of his room, Veronica came and brought him breakfast. She helped him dress and then moved him to the window seat. 

_I am so glad I have her here to help. What am I going to do when she leaves to be with her bonded? She should have already left. I do not know how she can stand to be separated from her bonded. It hurts so much. Gods I have never felt this awful. I never want to go through this again._

Lance watched as people walked by his window. His windows were why he loved his room. Through them, he could at least look out on the world he was not allowed to join. He had spent most of the morning sitting there watching people walk by their house. He made a game of trying to guess at their destinations while wondering about their lives that seemed so different from his own. Eventually, the day took its toll, and he started getting tired. Leaning on the window, he zoned out a little bit, letting the outdoor colors swirl in his tired mind. He was almost asleep when something caught his eye. He pulled himself away from the lull of sleep, giving his attention to the two men approaching the house. 

_Is that?_

Lance was startled as intense purple eyes caught his own. They held each other’s gaze for a moment before the man looked away from him. Lance let his eyes roam over the figure that was his familiar. Lance felt tears run down his face. 

_Is that him? Please Gods, let it be him. Did. . . did he really come back for me? Does he really want me? Please, please, please, help me._

The man looked back up at him. Lance placed a hand on the window as if he could somehow touch the man through it. He saw the man return the gesture below him. Lance was caught by those eyes as he watched as the two men crossed in front of the window to the front door of his house. He heard them knock on the door. 

Lance said, “He is here. My familiar. I have to. . .”

He gripped the side of the window seat and tried to push himself up to his feet. His legs wobbled beneath him and he fell back into the window seat. He gritted his teeth and tried again, but failed. Pausing for a moment to catch his breath, he could hear the echo of his father’s words to the men. Panic rolled through Lance. 

_He is not going to let them in! I have to get down there. My familiar is going to leave me, again. What if he never comes back?_

Lance tried one more time to stand but this time he overbalanced and fell to the floor. A loud thump echoed through the house. Sprawled out on the floor and desperate, he began to pull himself forward out of his room. He drug his resisting body inch by inch to the top of the stairs that led down to the door. He could see his father in the doorway and the shadows of the men that he father was talking to. 

_He is here. He is so close. I need. . . I need to see him._

Lance softly called out to his father, “Father, please. . .”

His father ignored him and continued talking to the men. A few moments later he slammed the door in their face. Lance broke down and sobbed. 

His father walked over to him. “Stop it. It is embarrassing to see a grown man act like this. You will not see your so-called familiar. We will make a proper contract for you at the ball. Now pull yourself together and act like a McClain.” 

His father kicked him in the ribs before walking away back to his study. Lance curled around the pain his father had inflicted on him. He felt emotions not his own cascade through his body. Lance let out a groan as he rode out the wave of guilt, frustration, and anger that came from his familiar. 

_Is this how he feels? Well, at least I know he feels bad about all this. I can feel him even if I cannot talk to him. Now I know the bond is there at least._

A few moments later, Veronica found her brother curled up at the top of the stairs. 

She said, “Oh, Lance. I am so sorry.”

He cried into her shoulder as she helped him back to his room. She gently placed him back on the window seat. Lance sighed in relief to see that the men were still out there. 

_At least I got to see him one last time._

He watched as the other man tried to calm his familiar down. They finally turned and began to walk away from Lance. Lance panicked. 

_No. Wait. Do not leave me again._ ****

His familiar looked back at him and said, “I will be back. I will come for you.” 

Lance nodded as he felt more tears slip down his face. He watched his familiar leave him for the second time. When they were out of sight, Lance put his head into his hands and sobbed like his heart was breaking. Veronica stood behind him making soothing noises and rubbing circles into his back. 

She said, “We will figure this out. We will find a way around father. He cannot do this. I swear to you that we will get you to your familiar, Lance.”

Lance hiccupped as he looked up at Veronica. “But I do not even know his name, how will we find him?” 

“We will find him. I promise you that we will.”


	3. A Way To A Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays everyone.
> 
> Lance’s Dad is being a bastard again in this chapter. Warning for physical assault/domestic abuse.

Lance groaned as he looked up at his father from the floor. 

_ I feel so drained. I hurt everywhere. Now I know why it is such a big deal to be separated from your bonded after bonding. I wish he were here. Will he really come for me? _

The last act of magic his father had him practice had drained the rest of his magical force. 

His father said, “Get up.”

Lance tried but his legs would not hold him. 

He slumped back down to the floor. “I cannot.” 

“What a pathetic display, son. You are getting worse. You could barely hold a defensive barrier today, let alone do any offensive magic. What is wrong with you? At this rate I will never find you a contract. Who would want to be with a third rate mage like you?”

Lance stuttered, “I have bond sickness and magic fatigue. What do you expect me to do?”

Lance’s father walked over to him and took him by the arm. He bodily lifted the boy off of the floor. He shook Lance hard, his fingers leaving bruises on Lance’s arm, as he said, “You will not talk back to me, son. You are not bonded. Do not mention that boy that showed up here yesterday to me again. He is below your station and nothing to you. I will find you a proper contract. Someone who is equal to us in status. You will not speak of being bonded again.”

“But father. . .”

Lance winced as his father dropped him to the floor. “Never again. You hear me? You’ll get more than a good shaking if I hear those words pass your lips again.”

Lance said softly, “Yes, father.”

“What was that?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good boy. Now if you are not going to actually practice your magic then go back to your room.”

Lance tried to stand and walk out of the room but again his legs would not hold his weight. He collapsed back to the floor, adding to the bruises his body already sported. His father did not even spare him a look as he left the room. Lance sighed.

_ I am a mess. Who would want me? My familiar was right to walk away. I am useless. I cannot even stand on my own.  _

Lance lay helpless on the floor of their magic room until Veronica found him there a couple of candle marks later. 

Veronica asked, as he helped her brother to sit up, “How long?”

Lance answered, “A candle mark or two?”

She clenched her teeth. “I hate him. I am so glad that I get to leave for good in a few weeks to be with my bonded. I would have left right away, but. . .”

“But you were worried for me.”

Veronica, as she helped Lance up off the floor, said, “I still am. You found your bonded, but father will not acknowledge it. What he is doing is illegal, Lance. We have to find a way to get you to your bonded. Once you escape, he cannot bring you back, especially given who you are bonded to.”

“What do you mean?”

“I am fairly sure that you have bonded to General Shirogane’s brother.”

Lance grimaced, leaning heavily on Veronica as they began moving towards his room. “He has a brother?”

“It is not widely known that he does, but I was at the ceremony where General Shirogane was conferred his nobility and he introduced his brother to a few of us there. Once we get you out, you will be one of the best protected people in the city.”

Lance looked down at the floor. “But how. . . how do I get out of this house, Veronica? It is not like father is going to let me waltz out the front door, especially now.” 

“We will think of something. Are there any events coming up soon that father would take you to?”

Lance thought for a minute. “Hmm, wait, actually there is! The Queen’s ball coming up in a couple of days. I was fitted for my outfit for it last month. I think father wants to use it to find me a contract. He was especially picky about my clothing and insisted on being there for the selection and fitting which he normally does not care about.”

“Will you be well enough to go?”

“I will have to be. Father will not allow me to miss it. Do you think that they will be there? Do they warrant an invite to the ball?”

“I do not know if they will be there, but they would definitely be invited. No matter what father thinks, they are a member of the nobility. Plus, if I remember correctly, the General’s familiar is the royal healer. Therefore, they would warrant an invite anyways.”

“Wait, the General is a mage?”

Veronica nodded.

“Then how is his brother a familiar? Everyone knows that siblings are always the same, either mages or familiars.”

“Hmm, I do not know. I guess we will find out soon enough. If they do not come to the ball, and we cannot get you out that way, then I will talk to the General about starting the legal procedures to get you free from father. He cannot legally hold you away from your bonded. The Queen will not stand for it. It is just. . .”

“Just. . .?”

“That it will take a long time to get you out that way and I am not sure what father will do to you in the meantime or how the separation will affect you physically and mentally.”

“Can he make me contract with someone else?”

“No. He cannot make you take a contract with another familiar. The spell will not take if you are already bonded and there is no way beyond death to break a bond.”

Tears gathered in Lance’s eyes. “I hope that they come to the ball, Veronica. It is awful to be away from him. I need. . .”

Lance was shaking as they finally made it to his room. 

Veronica helped settle him into his bed. “I know, Lance. I know. I will make sure that you are reunited with your bonded. Father will not get away with this. But right now you need to rest, so that you will be able to go to the ball.”

Lance grabbed his sister’s hand as she began to leave the room. “Thank you, Veronica. For everything.”

Veronica felt tears gather in her eyes. “No need to thank me, brother. I would do anything to make sure you are happy and safe.”

Lance smiled as he released her hand. Veronica left the room. 

Lance felt sleep overtake him as he thought  _ Please, please, please come to the Queen’s ball. I need you, bonded. Please come for me like you promised you would.  _

****

Keith prowled around the living room. Shiro watched as he paced back and forth, eerily reminding him of the big cat that Keith was in his familiar form. Keith stopped pacing and turned to Shiro and Adam who were sitting at the kitchen table finishing lunch. 

Adam said, “You should eat, Keith. You need to keep up your strength for your bonded.”

Keith growled, “I’m not hungry.”

Adam replied, “That may be so, but your body needs fuel and you do not have the luxury of letting yourself get ill. You are going to need all your strength, magically and physically, to get that boy away from his father. I am familiar with Master McClain. He is of the worst sort. I have heard the things that he has done to his contracted and to his children. It is not pretty. Some healer friends of mine have been over to that house way too often.”

Shiro looked over at Adam. “You are not helping.”

Adam said, “He needs to know what we are up against. It is better to be prepared.” 

Keith asked, “What if we cannot get him away from his father?”

Shrio calmly said, “We will get him out of that house. If we cannot figure out a way to do it in the next couple of days, then I will start the legal proceedings. His father cannot legally keep him away from his bonded.”

Keith asked, “Can we even prove that we are bonded? How does that even work?”

Adam replied, “A mind healer can actually see the bond, plus there was a witness to the bonding.”

Keith confusedly asked, “Who?”

Shiro replied, “Pidge. That is actually how I knew what you had done. She saw it happen and told me. I just happened to be there and find Lance right after it happened.”

Keith finally slumped down in a chair at the dining table. “Oh. Why have we not done that already?”

Adam passed Keith a plate of food. 

Keith picked at the food as Shiro replied, “It takes a while for things like that to move through the system. The Queen would definitely rule in our favor but it could take a month or more to get it done. I do not think Lance can survive that long. So we are exploring other avenues that might prove to be quicker.”

Keith sighed. “I feel so tired today. Like something is draining me.”

Adam said, “It could be Lance. If someone is making him use magic in his current state he could be drawing on your magic. Or it could just be the stress of the whole situation.”

Keith asked, “Who would. . . goddamn his father. I bet he is making him practice right now.”

Keith suddenly flinched. “He is hurting him Shiro, I can feel it. He is hurting him. We need to get him out of that house now!”

Keith growled threateningly. 

Adam, calmly, asked, “What do you mean, hurting him?”

Keith replied, “He is fucking phyically assaulting him. I can feel it. I can feel how tired he is too. We need to go get him, Shiro, please. We cannot leave him there. His father is going to kill him at this rate.”

Keith jumped out of his chair, causing it to fall to the floor. He started for the door, but Shiro managed to grab him before he could get there. He pulled his brother back into his chest, holding him as much as restraining him. Keith struggled to get loose but Shiro held onto his brother tightly. Shiro watched as Keith’s kitty ears popped out of his head. 

Keith felt Lance’s words echo through his head  **_I am a mess. Who would want me? My familiar was right to walk away. I am useless. I cannot even stand on my own._ **

_ I want you. I am coming, Lance. I promise I am coming.  _

Shiro spoke softly, “It is okay.”

“No. It is not okay, Shiro. They are . . . hurting him. He is tired and hurting. He cannot even stand on his own right now. He needs me and I cannot. . . It is my fault. My fault. I need to be there for him. You do not understand.”

“I know, I know. But we have to go about this smartly. Otherwise things could end very badly for both of you. Keith, this not your fault. It is his father’s fault. Not yours. It is going to be okay. We just need. . .” 

Keith let out a low and dangerous growl that reverberated through his chest. Suddenly, Shiro had his arms around a black jaguar instead of his brother. He quickly let the jaguar go. Shiro looked down at his shape-shifted brother. He reached down to touch him, but Keith shied away. Shiro sighed and moved to sit down on the couch in the living room. Once settled, he patted his leg. The jaguar carefully approached Shiro and climbing on the couch, he laid his head on Shiro’s leg. 

Shiro stroked his brother’s head. “I am sorry, Keith. I am so, so sorry. I never thought anyone would try to keep bonded apart. I have never heard of this happening before. I should have brought him here instead of taking him home. I knew you were his soulmate when I took him there. I should have brought him to you.”

Adam said, “It is not your fault, Shiro. You did not know. Keith will be alright. It is really hard for familiars. We get these strong protective urges for our mages. They can be overwhelming and confusing, especially for someone like Keith.”

“I know, but still I. . .”

“There were so many things that we could have done differently to avoid this situation, but that does not matter now. What matters now is figuring out how to save Lance.” 

Shiro nodded. “Perhaps we should just rest a little first. It might help clear our heads.”

“Hmm. That sounds like a good idea. I know you both had a restless night.”

Adam considered his family that was taking up most of the couch. There was no way he would fit on the couch in his current form. He turned into his familiar form, an ocelot, and curled up beside his mage. Shiro shifted. He lay back against Keith, and pulled his familiar into his lap. All three men succumbed to their weariness and slept. A couple of candle marks later Adam and Shiro were awakened as Keith got down from the couch and then shifted.

Keith excitedly said, “The Queen’s ball. We have got to go to the Queen’s ball.”

Shiro, confused, asked, “Why? You have never been interested in going before.”

Keith smiled. “Lance will be there.”

Shiro asked, “How do you know?”

Keith, placing a finger on his temple, said, “He told me.”

Shiro asked, “Can you talk to him yet.”

Keith’s excitement faded. “No. Why can I not talk to him? I hear his thoughts all the time.”

Adam, after reverting back to human, said, “It could be that the bond is still evolving, especially since you have been kept apart or it could be due to some mind block you have. If you keep having problems with it, then we will get Romelle to take a look.”

Keith nodded. 

Adam said, “If you are going to the ball then we need to do something about clothes for you. Shiro will be wearing his uniform and I already have my outfit for the ball. But we will need to find something appropriate for you to wear.”

Keith frowned. “Why?”

Adam sighed. “They are not going to let you in unless you look like a noble. Besides, do you not want to look good when you meet Lance? He is your soulmate after all.”

Keith blushed, “I. . . uh. . . okay?”

Shiro asked, “How are you going to get him clothes that fast? It is in two days, is it not?”

Adam replied, “My tailor can work miracles, if you pay him enough. Put your boots on, Keith. We will go see him right now.”

Keith, relieved to be doing something towards his goal of rescuing Lance, nodded and grabbed his boots. He and Adam were out the door so fast Shiro barely knew what was happening. 

Shiro said to the empty room, “Wait. I wanted to go too.” 

Shiro sighed and resettled on the couch to wait for Adam and Keith to return. Once out of the house, Adam steered Keith towards the market. When they got there, he led him to the permanent shops that were on the outside of the market. They went into one of the shops in the clothing district. 

Adam was greeted by the owner when they entered, “What can I do for you today, Master Healer?”

Adam pushed Keith forward. “My mage’s brother has finally consented to attend the ball with us this year. He needs clothes appropriate for the occasion.”

The tailor asked, “You mean the ball that is in two days?”

Adam sighed. “Yes. I know that this is a difficult request, but it is very important that Keith be able to attend. Of course you will be properly compensated for your time and trouble.” 

The tailor sighed. “We might have something that would suffice. Let me get my measuring tape and we will start there.”

Adam nodded. “Thank you.”

Adam took a seat on the couch that was available in the receiving room. He looked relaxed. Like he belonged there. Keith, however, was nervous waiting in the shop while the tailor fetched his assistant and his tools.

_ I am not used to this. Having to be and act like nobility. Not used to having money like this either. Am I going to embarrass Lance? Is he going to want someone like me? _

The tailor returned and began to take his measurements. Keith scowled as they asked him to stand a certain way and move this way and that. 

He kept thinking  _ this is for Lance. I need to do this so I can see Lance. _

When the tailor was finally finished, he and his assistant vanished to the back of the store. When they returned, they were carrying several tunics and breeches. 

The tailor said, “These are what I have available that could be altered to fit in time for the ball.”

Adam stood up to look at the selection. He motioned Keith to come over and look as well. Keith sighed and walked over to look at the clothing. 

Adam asked, “See anything you like?”

Keith replied, “I. . . uh. . . do not know? I have never had clothes like this before.”

Adam and the tailor shared a look and then Adam carefully looked over the selection the tailor had provided. 

Adam held up a crimson tunic. “How about this one?”

Keith replied, “It is red.”

Adam said, “Yes, and it will look stunning on you.”

“But red is expensive.”

“Let me worry about that. You just need to worry about looking good for Lance.”

“But.”

“No buts.”

Keith sighed. “Okay. That one will be fine.”

Adam also picked out a pair of soft black breeches for Keith to wear with tunic. The tailor nodded approvingly at the selections. 

Adam asked, “How much?”

The tailor replied, “Two gold since we have to rush.”

Adam nodded and reached into his pouch to grab the coins.

Keith protested, “That is too much! Adam, you cannot spend that kind of money on me.”

Adam raised an eyebrow, “Why not? I get paid well for being the royal healer.”

“But.”

“No buts. It is my coin and I choose to spend it on my bonded’s brother. It has been a while since I had family of any sort. Let me spoil you at least this once.”

Keith sighed but nodded. Adam smiled and handed the coins to the tailor. 

The tailor said, “I will have these ready for you on the afternoon of the ball. Shall I send them to your house or will you pick them up?”

Adam replied, “Send them to the house, please.”

The tailor nodded. “Have a good evening, sirs.”

Adam replied, “You also.”

Keith and Adam left the tailor’s shop with Keith still grumbling about the cost of his clothes. 

Adam chuckled at Keith. 

He thought out loud as they walked home. “It is too bad we do not have time to get you new boots as well. The ones you have will have to do. Be sure to clean and shine them well before the ball. Jewelry would have been nice, too. But we do not have time to find or commission something appropriate with a stone appropriate for a focus in it so. . . But I will lend you a gold cuff to wear instead of your leather bracer over your mark.” 

Keith said, “Hmm.”

“What is a matter now?”

“It is just that I am no noble, title or not. What if I embarrass him or something? What if he does not want me once he finds out I am an anomaly?” 

“I do not think he is going to care how you act to tell you the truth. He will probably be so happy you are there it will not matter. I would not worry about him finding out you are an anomaly either. He is your soulmate, Keith. The magics would not send you someone who would reject you.”

“You think so?”

“I do. You are both physically and mentally suffering right now because of your separation. That should considerably lesson when you are allowed to be near each other. Touching would be even better, but there is only so much of that you can do in polite company.”

Keith blushed, “I. . . uh. . . what?!”

“Do not worry, each mage and familiar has their own relationship that moves at their pace. Just communicate with Lance about what you feel comfortable doing. I am sure he will respect your boundaries. Not every bonding is romantic, although most are, especially between strong mages and familiars.”

Keith swallowed hard. “Ah. . . okay.”

_ I had not even thought about the relationship aspect of all this. What if he does not want me in that way? What if I do not want him that way? What will that do to our relationship, our bond? _

“I know this whole thing is scary and stressful for you, Keith. But it is going to turn out alright. Just take it one step at a time.”

“You think so?”

“I do.”


	4. A Cinderella Meeting

Keith could hardly contain himself with everything he was feeling. He was not sure if it was excitement, fear, anticipation, or a mix of all three. He also could not tell if they were his emotions or Lance’s. In the past two days, he had been bombarded with thoughts and feelings from his mage. All of which made him long to rescue Lance all that much more. 

_ I do not know how he has survived in that environment, but I am taking him away from there and he will never have to see his father again.  _

Looking in the mirror, Keith straightened the clothes that Adam had bought him.

_ He was right. I do look good in red. I wonder if Lance will like it. _

When Keith stepped out of his room, Adam was waiting for him. 

Keith asked, “What?”

Adam replied, “We have to do something about your hair.”

“What about my hair? It looks fine.”

“Nope. You should pull it back into a ponytail or something. Right now it is a shaggy mess.”

Keith started to move away from Adam. “It is fine.”

“You are not leaving this house unless you let me fix your hair.”

“Shiro, control your familiar. Tell him to leave my hair alone.”

Shiro chuckled, “You know that is not how it works. You should just let him fix it how he wants. It would be less painful for you that way.”

Keith started running with Adam close behind him wielding the hairbrush. Adam finally caught his prey in the living room.

Keith, panting said, “Fine, do whatever you want.”

Adam smiled and fixed Keith’s hair back in a stylish ponytail. 

When he was finished, he said, “There. Now Lance will not be able to resist you.”

Keith just rolled his eyes. “Can we go now?”

Adam double checked that everyone was dressed appropriately. Satisfied with everyone’s outfit, Adam said, “Yes. We can go.”

All three men left the house and climbed into the waiting carriage that Adam had hired for the evening. The carriage ride to the palace was a short one. Keith found himself getting more and more nervous as they approached their destination. 

_ What if he does not like me? What if he does not want me after what I have done? _

Shiro, sensing his brother’s nervousness, said, “It is going to be alright.”

“How do you know?”

“Just call it a feeling that I have.”

Keith scoffed but otherwise remained silent as they made their final approach to the palace. Once the trio had exited their carriage, they walked through the palace towards the ballroom. Keith remembered to allow Shiro and Adam to walk ahead of him since they held a higher rank than him. When they arrived at the ballroom, the herald announced their entrance. 

The herald’s booming voice echoed through the chamber. “Announcing Mage General Shirogane and his Familiar, Court Healer Adam Shirogane.”

Shiro escorted Adam through the entranceway and into the crowded ballroom.

The herald then announced Keith. “Announcing Familiar Keith Kogane of the house of Shirogane.”

Keith blushed as he was announced and timidly walked into the ballroom. He had never attended the queen’s ball before. He was not used to being someone worth announcing and was uncomfortable when many in the ballroom turned to stare at him. 

Keith sighed.  _ I knew there was a reason I did not come to these things, but he is supposed to be here and it might be my only opportunity to see him, to save him.  _

When Keith stepped into the crowd, it seemed to part like magic. Looking through the parted crowd, his eyes fell upon one of the most beautiful beings he had ever seen. Lance was dancing and had not noticed that Keith had arrived. Keith took a moment to just look at his mage. He let his eyes wander up and down Lance’s body. Lance was wearing a tunic whose blue hue matched his vibrant eyes and there was large sapphire set in gold around his neck. His pants were simple and black but obviously made of high-quality cloth. Keith looked up and shuddered when Lance's eyes met his own. 

**_You are here. You came. Can you keep your promise?_ **

Keith walked towards his mage. He waited until the current song ended and Lance separated from his current dancing partner. 

Keith held out his hand. “May I have this dance?”

Lance replied, “Of course.”

Lance placed his hand into Keith’s and immediately felt better. A sigh that seemed to come from his soul left his body. Keith clasped their hands together and settled his other hand on Lance’s waist. Lance placed his other hand on Keith’s shoulder and they began to dance. Insulated in their own little world by the music and the dance, they smiled and basked in each other’s presence. 

Keith thought  _ I am glad that Adam insisted on teaching me how to dance.  _

Lance softly said, “We were never properly introduced. I do not even know your name.”

Keith replied, “Keith. My name is Keith Kogane.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Keith. I am Lance McClain.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Lance.”

Lance blushed. “I am glad.”

“Hmm?”

“I am glad that you came back for me.”

“I. . . uh. . . Gods. . . Lance. . . I am. . .”

Lance hushed him. “It is alright. We will talk when this dance is over?”

Keith, not knowing what else to say, simply nodded. When the dance was over, Lance led Keith out of the ballroom to an empty balcony where they could talk. Lance stepped away from Keith. He rested his arms on the balcony ledge and looked out across the royal gardens. Keith just watched him, his words caught in his throat at the beautiful site. Lance was lovely in the ballroom, but the moonlight across his skin made him seem ethereal.   


Keith wondered  _ How could I just leave him? He is so. . .  _

Lance started, “I was afraid you would not come. That you had not heard me or that you changed your mind and did not want me.”

Keith replied, “I promised you I would.”

“I know, but. . . “

Keith looked at the beautiful man before him and hung his head. “I owe you an apology.”

Lance, startled, looked back at Keith. “For what?”

“For leaving you in the market. None of this would have happened if I had just stayed!”

Lance, turning to face Keith, shrugged his shoulders. “I am used to it.”

“Used to what?”

“Being left. Being unwanted.”

Keith stepped closer to Lance. “You should not be.”

“Left, or used to it?”

“Both. I was scared and I made a mistake that day leaving you in the market. You have paid for my mistake in pain and for that, I am truly sorry. But if you will let me, I would like to make it up to you.”

“How?”

“First? By getting you away from that father of yours. Leave here with me tonight.”

“Where will we go?”

“For now, we can stay with my brother. He has plenty of room in his house for us. It will give us some time to figure things out.”

“Is he okay with that?”

“Yes, he and Adam are adamant that you come with us. We cannot let you go back to that house. We could not bear it.”

Keith gave in to the urge to touch his mage. He cupped Lance’s cheek with his hand. 

Closing his eyes, Lance leaned into the touch. “Do you mean that?”

Keith nodded. “I do. I do not want to be separated from you anymore. It feels . . . wrong. I need to be where you are. I need to protect you.”

Lance felt tears leak out of his eyes. He turned his head and kissed Keith’s palm. Keith shivered at the intimate touch. He dropped his hand from Lance’s face and reached out towards the boy. Keith put his arms around Lance and pulled the mage close to his chest. 

He growled, “You are mine. I will not allow anyone else to hurt you.”

Lance was startled by Keith’s possessiveness but he sank into his embrace.

_ For the first time in my life, I feel safe. _

Lance let his head rest on Keith’s shoulder. Keith could feel the tears soaking into his tunic. He held on to Lance tightly, closing his eyes and relishing the feeling of Lance in his arms. All of a sudden, Lance was ripped away from him. Keith, opening his eyes, saw that Lance’s father had found them. 

Keith growled at the man. “Let him go.”

Lance’s father said, “I will not. He is my son and I will do with him what I please.”

He started to pull Lance off the balcony. “I have made a pact for a good contract for you. You will come meet them, and we will settle this as soon as possible.”

Lance said, “No. I am already bonded. I want to be with Keith, my familiar.”

He resisted his father’s pull and tried to escape his hold. Lance reached out towards Keith. As Keith moved forward to grasp his hand, Lance’s father released his hold on Lance, only to cuff him on the side of the head. The blow stunned Lance for a moment, allowing his father to continue to drag him from the balcony. 

Keith stalked up to Lance’s father. “Let him go.”

Lance’s father replied, “I will not. Begone, pup.”

Keith lost his temper. He punched Lance’s father in the face, stunning the man and causing him to release Lance. 

Lance was stunned. “Keith?”

Keith replied, “I will not allow him to take you or hurt you anymore.”

Keith grabbed Lance’s hand and they escaped the balcony. They started to move towards the ballroom, intent on finding Shiro or Adam. They managed to get back to the main ballroom floor but they could hear Lance’s father following close behind them. Over the crowd, Keith spotted Shiro and made a beeline for his brother, dragging Lance behind him. As they approached Shiro, Keith called out his brother’s name. Shiro turned to see his brother dragging a terrified Lance behind him.

When they reached Shiro, he asked, “What happened?”

Keith panted, “We were talking on the balcony.”

“Ok.”

“But Lance’s father found us.”

Shiro groaned.

“He was not too happy to find us there together.”

Shiro, keeping an eye on the mage that was now storming towards them, asked, “So what did you do?”

Lance said, “It was not his fault. He was just defending me.”

Shiro asked again, “What did you do, Keith?”

Keith replied, “I might have punched him.”

Shiro exclaimed, “What?!”

Keith explained, “He hit Lance and I kind of lost it and hit him back.”

Shiro sighed. “Keith.”

Lance’s father approached the trio and tried to grab Lance, but Shiro and Keith quickly stepped in front of him.

Lance’s father demanded, “Give me my son.”

Keith said, “No. He is my bonded and he is staying with me.”

Shiro looked the mage in the eye. “You cannot legally keep bonded separated. Do you really want to do this here? In the queen’s ballroom with all your peers present?”

Lance’s father turned red in the face. “He is my son and he will be coming with me.”

A soft but regal voice behind Lance’s father asked, “What is going on here?”

Lance’s father turned around to berate whoever was interrupting only to find the queen standing there. They all bowed. 

She said, “Rise. Now someone tell me what is going on here that is so important that you are causing a scene during my ball.”

Lance’s father started, “My Queen, these people have kidnapped my son and will not return him to me.”

Queen Allura, eyeing her captain of the guard, said, “This cannot be true. You cannot mean to tell me that the captain of my personal guard is holding someone captive.”

Lance’s father stammered, “The captain. . . “

He looked at the man who had come to his door a few days ago and finally noticed the uniform he was wearing. Shiro, noticing his look, just nodded.

Allura, addressing Lance, said, “You must be Master McClain's son, for I know Keith here is General Shirogane’s brother.”

Lance replied, “Yes, your majesty. “

“What is your name?”

“Lance, your majesty.”

“Can you tell me what happened here, Lance?”

“Yes, your majesty. Keith and I bonded a few days ago. Something happened and we were separated after the bonding. Since that day, my father has kept us separated. He would not let me see Keith.”

“That must have been very hard on you, Lance. Have you been feeling ill?”

“Yes, your majesty. Very ill. This first time I have felt better, in days, was tonight when I touched Keith.”

Queen Allura nodded, encouraging Lance to continue. 

“For some reason, my father does not want me to be bonded to Keith and tried to separate us when he found us together here. He hit me and tried to drag me away from Keith. Keith hit him back to try and get me free from him. He chased us from the balcony to here and was trying to take me away from my bonded again.”

Queen Allura looked at Lance’s father, “Is this true?”

Lance’s father said, “He is not bonded. He is lying.”

Shiro said, “We have a witness to the bonding.”

Queen Allura said, “Who?”

Shiro replied, “Mistress Katherine Holt, your majesty.”

Lance’s father said, “That must be a friend of his that will lie for him.”

Keith, exasperated, asked, “Why would we try to steal your son? We did not even know him until he and I bonded in the market.”

Lance’s father spat, “You scum are just trying to move up in the world by attaching yourselves to my son.”

Queen Allura said, “That will be enough of that, Master McClain.”

She turned to a servant. “Fetch Healer Romelle for me please.”

The servant girl curtsied and ran to fetch the requested healer. 

Queen Allura said, “We will have all this settled in a moment. Healer Romelle is here with us tonight and she is a mind healer. She will be able to see if there is a bond between the boys or not.”

The party waited in silence for Romelle to attend to them. After a few minutes, they saw her following the servant girl back to their group.

Romelle curtsied to the Queen and asked, “How may I be of service to your majesty?”

Queen Allura replied, “These boys claim to have been bonded. Master McClain claims they are not. Can you settle this matter for us, Healer Romelle?”

Romelle replied, “Certainly, your majesty.”

Romelle used her magic to concentrate on the boys. She could see the bond humming brightly between them.

_ They have a very strong bond. They both must have powerful magics. But there is a lot of pain in the bond, they must have been separated right after the bonding. It has not been allowed to set properly. It is frayed around the edges. It must hurt them both terribly. They need to be together to allow this to heal. _

Romelle said, “They are bonded. It is a very strong bond, your majesty, but it has been damaged. Have they been separated since the bonding?”

Shiro said, “Yes, Lance’s father has been keeping them apart for the past three days. They have not been able to connect with each other since the bonding happened.”

Romelle shook her head. "That is not good, especially for a new bond. There is damage to the bond and it has not been allowed to set. They need to be together for it to heal properly or there could be physical and mental consequences for both of them."

Queen Allura asked Lance’s father, “Is there a reason you have separated a bonded pair?”

Lance’s father said, “My boy deserves better than to be bonded to that.”

Keith started to move forward but Lance’s hand on his arm held him back. 

Queen Allura said, “He is the brother of General Shirogane. There is no reason why he should not be bonded to your son. Even if he were an orphan on the street, it would still be illegal to keep them apart. You will have to face the consequences for your actions.”

Master McClain floundered but then smiled. “That may be, but first I demand satisfaction from that boy.”

Queen Allura asked, “For?”

Master McClain said, “That boy attacked me.”

Keith replied, “Only after you hit Lance.”

Master McClain said, “Still, I can challenge you to a magical duel for the infraction.”

Keith looked at Shiro.

Shiro said, “He is right. It is within his rights to ask for satisfaction for that.”

Queen Allura sighed. “We can hold the duel here, we have a dueling field in the courtyard.”

Lance looked at Keith with concern as they followed Adam, Shiro, and the Queen across the ballroom.

Keith whispered, “It is going to be alright.”

Lance thought  _ I hope so. I really hope so.  _


	5. A Meeting of Magics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this is a day late. I was so tired on Friday that I just collapsed when I got home. The first week of classes always wears me out. There is always one more thing to do for my classes to get them up and running. Hope you enjoy this chapter (battles are so hard to write).

Queen Allura led the party out of the ballroom and to the dueling field. Nearly all of the other people at the ball followed them to watch the spectacle that was about to proceed. 

The Queen asked, “Coran, will you preside over the duel?”

Coran replied, “Certainly, your majesty.”

Coran approached the field and climbed up on the platform that had been constructed for the duel moderator. It was at the center of the field to make for easy observation of the ongoing duel, but off to the side to keep the moderator out of the line of fire. 

Coran gestured to silence the crowd. “The rules are as follows gentlemen: One, the duel continues until one side concedes, sucomes to magic fatigue or breaks the rules. The winner is the mage or familiar left standing. Two, no help can be given except from your bonded. Your bonded can stand with you, feed you energy, or choose to not participate at all. Three, no intentional fatal magics can be used. That is an automatic loss and will cause you to be subject to the Queen’s judgment. And finally each mage or familiar must stay on their side of the battlefield, no physical attacks are allowed. Only magic may be used in this duel. Any questions gentlemen?”

Keith and Master McClain shook their heads. 

Coran said, “Then take you places on the field.”

Master McClain confidently claimed his side of the field. He gestured to his contracted to join him, but she shook her head.

Master McClain growled, “Come here, you worthless familiar.”

Mistress McClain said softly, “I will not fight against my son or his bonded.”

Master McClain said, “I did not ask for your opinion. Come here.”

Coran interrupted, “Master McClain, you cannot make your familiar participate.”

“Fine.”

Master McClain began to prepare for the duel.

_ At least I’ll only have one pup to deal with. There is no way my son would have the gall to stand against me.  _

Master McClain’s eyes widened as he watched his son follow his bonded out onto the field. Keith noticed McClain’s gaze and turned to look behind him. It was only then that he noticed Lance following him. 

Keith hissed, “What are you doing?”

Lance replied, “Supporting my bonded?”

“You heard Coran. You do not have to stand with me if you do not want to.”

“I want to. You are my familiar. My place is beside you, even though my magic may not be able to help much.”

“Against your own father?”

“I have no love for that man. He has made my life worse than the Lower Realms these past years. And the last few days were torture.”

Keith reached out and took Lance’s hand. “If you want to help, I will take it.”

Lance nodded as they took their positions. Keith continued to hold Lance’s hand as they turned to face his father. 

Master McClain shouted across the distance. “He cannot do that. My son cannot help him.”

Coran reminded, “You can have help from your bonded and we have already established that those boys are in fact bonded.”

Master McClain screamed, “But he is my son!”

Coran calmly replied, “And evidently prefers his bonded who he just met to his own father.”

Master McClain growled. “Fine. It is not like Lance will be any great help anyway. I will teach these boys a lesson.”

Once both parties were in position, Coran said, “You may begin. May the Gods bless the righteous with victory.”

Master McClain set up a barrier of ice between him and the boys. 

_ That should be able to contain anything either of them can throw at me. Lance is a weak mage and bonded are matched by strength so his familiar should be sorry as well.  _

Lane said (to Keith), “I do not have much in the way of combat skills, but I can build us a protective barrier.”

Keith nodded.“Okay. I will leave that to you. I will take care of the combat. I have been training with Shiro and Master Holt since my magic manifested.”

Lance nodded. He cast a wall of ice around the both of them. 

_ That should be able to absorb a few attacks, as long as they are not lethal. And lethal spells are against the rules. _

Master McClain cast the first volley of magic. Standing behind his barrier he nonchalantly flicked his wrist towards the boys. This sent a shower of ice arrows towards them.

Keith easily countered the arrows. His fire flashed across the night sky, melting the arrows causing rain to fall down harmlessly. 

Lance asked, “You are a fire user?”

Keith said, “I am. Is that a problem?”

“No, it is fine. It is the perfect counter to my father’s magic.”

Master McClain frowned as he watched his arrows dissipate. 

_ He should not be able to do that! He is supposed to be weak and untrained! _

Master McClain looked up in surprise as a wall of fire-filled his vision. He barely had time to reinforce his wall to hold against the attack. The fire attack left it half melted. 

Master McClain returned fire with a series of ice spears designed to weaken their defenses. Keith melted them before they could touch the barrier. As another wall of flame approached Master McClain, he instinctively reached for his familiar to gain some extra magical power but found her shielded so he could not drain any of her magic. 

_ That bitch. She has no right to deny me. No right!  _

He could feel the heat of the flame through his barrier as it melted his ice. He strengthened the barrier once again. 

Master McClain growled, “Who in the Lower Realms is this kid? I will teach them.”

Master McClain gathered what was left of his magic and sent a large ice spike directly at Keith. It was one of his strongest combat magics. 

_ That should put an end to that pup and the trouble he has caused me.  _

Lance’s eyes got wide as he watched the spike fly through the air. 

_ That is meant to be a lethal attack. Father has shown it to me before during training. We cannot counter that! Why would he. . . It is against the rules. Look out! Keith!! _

Keith’s head turned towards Lance when he heard Lance’s warning in his mind. He tried to counter the attack but his magic barely dented the spike. 

_ What the fuck is that?  _

Keith watched as the spike shattered Lance’s barrier. He closed his eyes prepared, for whatever was about to happen. 

_ At least I got to see Lance again. I wish we had been able to get to know each other better. Will this kill him too? _

Keith heard something shatter and opened his eyes in time to see Lance slump to the ground. Keith fell to his knees, feeling shards of something digging into them, beside his soulmate. “No! No! Lance I was supposed to protect you! You should have. . . Why, Lance? After everything, I’ve done. Why would you do this for me?”

He gathered Lance into his arms, tears running down his face. 

_ At least he is still breathing. How in the Lower Realms did he survive that?  _

Coran, stopping the duel, announced, “The rules have been broken. A lethal attack has been used. Put up the barriers.”

Anger rolled through Keith’s body. 

_ He tried to kill us? _

His higher rational mind took a backseat as his familiar howled in his heart. He began to pull all his magic and cast it without form or thought at Master McClain. Keith unconsciously reached for all the power that he could find. His fury broke through the barriers in his mind as he reached for Lance. He pulled deep into Lance’s reserve of power. Keith reached power inside of Lance that the mage himself could not use. He shattered the barriers that had kept Lance from reaching his full magical potential. What left Keith's hands was a blue flame, a perfect merging of his and Lance’s powers. It took the form of a dragon, angry and intent on destruction. It easily demolished the safety barriers that the field had put up after the first lethal attack and began to break down Master McClain’s barrier. However, it dissipated before it could force its way through the final layer. 

Master McClain exclaimed, “What in the Lower Realms was that!?”

Coran walked over to Master McClain. “It was a power merge. One of the best I have ever seen. Those boys are very powerful and will be nearly invincible magically when they are trained. That last spell would have killed you if we had not pulled up the barriers and had Keith not passed out. You, however, lose since you sent the first lethal volley. You nearly killed your own son. What do you have to say to that?”

Master McClain replied, “He is no son of mine.”

Coran shrugged, “Either way. You will answer to the following charges: First, the illegal separation of a bonded pair which carries a jail sentence and a fine. Secondly, the throwing of a lethal volley during a duel which also carries a heavy jail sentence. You will appear in the Queen’s court tomorrow to sort these matters. I would get my house in order tonight if I were you. After the Queen’s ruling, it is unlikely you will go home again anytime soon. And do not think about running, a pair of the Queen’s guards will accompany you to your home to make sure you appear tomorrow.” 

Master McClain scowled but said nothing. He allowed the pair of guards that had been summoned to escort him to his home. He didn’t even spare a look back at his son or his contracted. 

***

As soon as Coran stopped the duel, Shiro went running towards his brother. He found him slumped over his mage both unconscious. 

Shiro, frantic, screamed, “Adam!”

“I am right here, love. Move so I can take a look at them.”

Adam quickly examined both of the boys. Keith had no external injuries. Lance had some wounds caused by the shattering of the sapphire focus, which had saved his life as it took the brunt of his father's spell.

Adam said, “They have magic fatigue and Lance has some wounds that are in need of healing, but otherwise they seem okay. However, just to be sure, especially since they created a merge, I want Romelle to take a look at them to make sure none of their magical circuits were damaged.” 

Shiro, concerned, asked, “You think they might have circuit damage?”

“It is possible.”

A feminine voice behind them said, “Take them to the royal healer’s wing.”

Adam turned. “Yes, your majesty.”

Queen Allura said, “I want them to have the best care possible. I am assigning you and Romelle as their primary healers.”

Even though Adam was relieved to have permission to treat them, he still had to ask, “Why the interest in them, your majesty?”

“Surely you saw the dragon flame they produced? I want them to become Paladins, part of my personal guard. We will need power like theirs if war breaks out between our country and the Galra.”

Adam thought  _ that is what I was afraid of. _

Adam replied, “Understood, your majesty. They will get the best care that Romelle and I can provide.”

Queen Allura said, “Good. I will send Romelle to you.”

She left the healer with his charges and returned to the ball. Coran had previously directed the rest of the court back inside to resume the interrupted festivities. 

Shiro sighed as he picked up Keith. “I am not ecstatic about these boys becoming part of the guard.”

Adam said, “I did not think you would be. But after that display, I do not think they have a choice. Can you have one of your guards carry Lance? I do not think I can carry him all the way to the healers’ wing.”

“Sure, love. Maybe you should come and train with me once in a while.”

“I am a healer, Shiro. Not a guard. I do just fine without you trying to beat me up in that training ring of yours. Save that for Keith and Lance when they are well.” 

Shiro laughed and then called out, “James!”

A guard who was still lingering outside the dueling field snapped to attention. “Yes, sir.”

Shiro said, “I need you to carry Master Lance to the healers’ quarters for me.”

James replied, “Yes, sir. I would be glad to sir.”

James hurried over to where they were standing and knelt beside the unconscious mage. He carefully picked him up. He then followed Shiro and Adam to the healers’ quarters in the palace. The infirmary was situated in the middle of the healers' personal rooms. Shiro and James carried the unconscious couple into the infirmary. Adam directed them to lay the boys down on a special larger bed in the infirmary. It was designed for a bonded pair that had been injured and needed to be able to remain close to one another. 

Shiro said (to James), “Go back to your post in the ballroom. I expect a full report in the morning.”

James replied, “Yes, sir.”

James left the infirmary and headed back to the ballroom. 


	6. A Meeting of Healers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a few days late. I was really sick last week and could not get it edited in time. TW: Mentions of injuries (not graphic) and being in pain.

Adam sighed as he considered the two charges that were laying on the bed. 

Adam said, “Sit.” as he gestured towards a chair. Shiro nodded and sat down, his eyes clouded with worry for his brother. 

Adam rolled up the sleeves of his tunic as he approached the bed. He examined Keith first. His eyes swept quickly down Keith’s form. 

_ I do not see any external wounds. I should undress him just to be sure.  _

Adam removed Keith’s clothing and examined his body. 

He said, “I do not see any wounds on Keith. He is probably just suffering from magic fatigue. Romelle will be able to tell us more when she gets here.”

Shiro asked, “Do you think that there is damage to their circuits?”

Adam shrugged. “I hope not, but I do not know. Mental healing is beyond my expertise. I can only deal with the physical.”

Shiro nodded. 

Adam redressed Keith in an infirmary robe and made sure he was lying comfortably. He moved over to Lance’s side of the bed. His eyes quickly took in the damage. He noted the shards of stone that seem to be embedded into Lance’s skin. 

_ I will have to remove the shards before I can undress him. The force of his father's blast must have embedded them in his chest. They are pinning his tunic to his skin.   
_

He walked over the supply cabinet and grabbed a pair of tweezers and a bowl. He very carefully removed the shards from Lance’s body. Once he was finished, he looked down at the shards. 

_ That used to be a sapphire. It saved his life. I cannot believe that Lance’s father almost killed him.  _

Adam reached over and laid the tools on the bedside table. He then turned back to Lance and undressed him to get a better look at his wounds. 

Adam hissed as he looked at the black and blue patches of skin on the mage. “Gods be damned.”

Shiro, alarmed, asked, “What!?”

Adam touched Lance’s chest gently. “There are so many bruises that are not from today’s fight. What has this boy been through?”

“I do not know, but I am beginning to wish that I had a few minutes alone with Master McClain.”

“Promise me we will not let anyone harm this boy like this again.”

Shiro stood and walked behind Adam and wrapped his arms around the familiar. 

“I will do my utmost to keep these boys safe, but if there is a war. . .”

“I know, Shiro. But they deserve better than what they have been through.”

“They do. All we can do is help them as much as we are able.”

Adam, leaning into Shiro’s warmth, nodded. They stayed like that for a moment but then Shiro pulled away and sat back down, allowing his familiar to finish his work. Adam reached around Lance’s neck to detach an amulet that he was wearing. Adam noticed that the gold was melted and the stone in the center was missing. When he removed it, he saw the burn it had left on Lance’s skin. 

Adam grimaced as he held up what was left of the amulet. “This must have been his focus. It absorbed most of the magic energy of that lethal spell. It is probably why they are not both dead. The burn left by the amulet will probably scar.”

Shiro shook his head as he looked at the mess that was his brother and his mage. “Poor Lance. Keith really paid for his temper this time, did he not?”

“I am afraid I would have hit that bastard too.”

Shiro chuckled. “Must be a family trait.”

Adam threw his mage a look as he moved away from the bed and began to collect the ointments, bandages and other tools he would need to augment Lance’s healing. 

Shiro’s smile was grim as he watched his mate treat each of Lance’s wounds. Adam cleansed each wound and then he put a healing salve on all the cuts and bruises. He covered the major ones with bandages. Adam then carefully redressed the boy in an infirmary robe. 

Shiro asked, “Will the wounds heal without scaring?”

Adam replied as he put away his supplies. “Most will. There are a couple that may scar.”

Shiro sighed. “Why cannot you heal him so that does not happen?

“I am afraid to speed up his healing in case Romelle needs to do the same for his circuits. The body only has so many resources and can accept only so much magical healing at a time.”

“Oh. The scars left behind will be hard for both of them.”

“Indeed. More so for Keith. It will be a constant reminder of what he thinks he did. It will take awhile for him to forgive himself. It is part of how familiars are wired.”

“Hmm. You all tend to be protective bastards, even if your mages do not need you to be.”

Adam shrugged as he put the last jar he had used on the shelf. “It is just how we are, mage.”

Shiro started to respond when Adam noticed a blonde woman standing in the doorway of the infirmary.

Adam said, “Romelle?”

She replied, “Allura said you might need my assistance?”

Adam nodded. “I am not sure if they just have magic fatigue or if something else is going on with their magical circuits. It was quite a feat of magic they performed at the end of the duel, especially since it was rumored that Lance could not access his magic like that.”

Romelle nodded. “Let me look at Keith first, I believe he is probably the less injured.”

She walked over to the side of the bed where Keith lay. She pulled a chair close to the bed and sat down. Putting her hands on Keith’s head, she used her magic to look inside the boy to see the state of his magical circuits. She found some irritation and damage in his circuits where he had broken through a barrier to his magic. She soothed the circuits with her magic. 

_ They should heal fine on their own. He will probably be healed by the time he recovers from his magic fatigue. It should only take a few days, probably.  _

She checked the bond between him and Lance. It shone between them but was not as complete as it should have been. 

_ The bond is damaged and that is hurting their circuits as well. How did they even stand being apart? It looks like the bond has not been allowed to set. I am glad that they are allowed to heal in the same bed. Touch will help with the healing of the bond and that will help the healing of their circuits.  _

She drew her magic out of Keith. “He will be fine. He has a little damage to his circuits where it looks like he destroyed some kind of barrier in his mind by pushing magic through it. I soothed it a bit. It will probably be healed by the time he recovers from his magic fatigue.”

Shiro let out a breath he had been holding.  __

She continued, “However, his bond with Lance is quite damaged. They need to stay in contact with each other as much as possible. If it is not healed soon, it will cause more damage to their circuits and perhaps their physical bodies. I have not seen too many cases where mates were separated so I do not know what course the separation will take if they remain separated.”

Adam nodded. “We will do our best to keep them in touch with one another. It will be a lot easier when Keith wakes.”

Romelle nodded. She reached out and took Keith’s hand in her own. She then placed Keith's hand over Lance’s. Both of the boy’s bodies seem to relax at the touch. 

She said, “Now, let me look at Lance.” 

Adam said softly, “He has been through a lot.”

Romelle looked up at Adam. “So I have heard.” 

She moved her chair to Lance’s side of the bed. She settled into it as she put her hands on either side of Lance’s head. She sent the warmth of her healing magic into his circuits. She gasped as her magic mapped out the damage to his magic circuits. 

_ Oh, my Gods. It is like. . . it is like his circuits were ripped open. What did Keith do to him? I have never seen anything like this. Never seen someone with so much damage. I hope we can heal this. Will he ever be able to use magic again? We must never tell Keith what he has done. It would kill a familiar to have hurt their mage in such a manner.  _

Adam asked, “What is wrong?”

Romelle, lifting her hands, answered, “He is hurt, badly. This is going to take some time to heal and he is going to be in a lot of pain.”

“Do we need to keep him knocked out?”

“Yes, as much as possible. If he is awake, he will be in an immense amount of pain.”

“We will have to wake him so he can eat.”

“Of course. Give him as much pain medicine as you can when you wake him. Having Keith touching him will help. I am going to heal as much as I can now, and I will be back in a couple days to heal him again. I have never seen anything like this. It looks like his magical channels were ripped open.”

Shiro asked, “Could Keith have done it during the magic meld?”

Romelle replied, “Yes. It is highly likely that is when it happened. Absorbing his father’s magic should not have done damage like this.”

Shiro said, “Please, do not tell Keith that it was his fault. He would never forgive himself and it would damage their already fragile relationship.”

Romelle nodded. “I agree. We should not tell him.”

Adam agreed, “It would likely damage his psyche since he is a familiar. He does not need to know what he has accidentally wrought.”

Romelle put her hands back on Lance’s head and sent her magic back into his circuits. She found the ones that were the most damaged and healed what she could without sending herself into magic fatigue. 

When she came back to her senses, she said, “That is all I can do for now. I and his body can stand no more healing tonight. I will be back in a couple of days to heal him some more.”

Adam asked, “Will we be able to heal him enough to return him to normal where he can use his magic?”

“It will be a long road for him, but I have hope that he can recover completely from this. But we will have to take it slow and not allow him to return to using magic too soon. He will need all of our support, especially that of his familiar. I hope that Keith is up to the task.”

Adam nodded. “I believe that he is. Thank you for helping me with them.”

Romelle smiled. “It is my pleasure. They have gone through so much they deserve all the help that they can get.” 

After Romelle left, Adam checked to make sure that Keith and Lance were still touching. He pulled a blanket over them. 

Adam said, “Now all we can do is wait and let them heal.”

Shiro replied, “Sometimes that is the hardest part.”

****

The next day 

Intense pain cut through Keith’s unconsciousness and dragged him back to awareness. Finding that he could not move, he groaned. The noise gained the attention of Shiro.

Shiro said, “You are awake! How do you feel?

Keith rasped, “I hurt. Why does it hurt so much?”

Shiro laid a comforting hand on Keith’s head. “You are probably feeling Lance’s pain. They had to wake him up to feed him and hydrate him. His body is using so much energy to heal and we do not want him draining you.”

Upon hearing Lance’s name, panic rolled through Keith. “Lance? Is he here? Is he okay? Can I see him? I need to see him, Shiro.”

Keith struggled to sit up.

Shiro put a hand on his shoulder, holding him down. “Calm down. He is right next to you.”

Keith turned his head to see that Lance was indeed sitting next to him. Keith could see Lance’s body shaking in effort and pain as he tried to swallow the broth Adam was feeding him. Keith slowly lifted his hand, and sliding it underneath Lance’s, he wove their fingers together. Lance looked down at their hands and smiled for a moment before another wave of pain wracked his body.

Lance groaned. 

Keith asked, “What is wrong?”

Shiro answered, “He has magical circuit damage. He is in a lot of pain from it. We are going to put him back to sleep after he eats so he can continue to heal.”

Keith watched as Adam gave Lance some medicine and helped him lay back down. He could see the tears running down Lance’s face. Keith watched as Lance slowly turned his head to look at Keith. Keith felt helpless as Lance’s blue eyes looked into his own. 

Keith thought _ I wish there was something I could do to help, but I cannot even move. I am so exhausted. _

**_You being here is enough. Please do not leave me._ **

Keith looked back into Lance’s eyes as he thought  _ I will not leave you. . . ever.  _

Lance smiled again as his eyes slipped closed and he drifted away from the pain that was consciousness. 

Keith looked at his brother, “Are we safe here?”

Shiro replied, “You are. I promise nothing is going to happen to either one of you while you are in the infirmary. The queen has given me leave to stay here with you until you are better and she has assigned Adam and Romelle to attend both of you until you are well. You have the best protection and the best care.”

Keith mumbled as he slipped back into sleep. “Thank you, Shiro.”


	7. A Painful Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another hurt/comfort chapter. Only one more chapter in the infirmary after this one.

Keith slowly blinked awake. He let out a soft groan as he moved his lethargic limbs. His eyes darted around the room. He took in the blank walls. 

_ This is not my bedroom. Where in the lower realms am I?  _

He had started to sit up when Shiro noticed he was awake. 

Shiro, rushing to his side, said, ‘Woah, buddy. Take it easy.”

Shiro put a hand on his shoulder to keep him from sitting up. “You have been out for a couple of days with magic fatigue.”

_ A couple of days? Is that why I feel so tired? What in the lower realms happened?  _

Keith rasped, “Shiro?" and then began coughing.  


Shiro, hovering over Keith, asked, "Are you okay?"

Keith nodded. "Water?"

Shiro, moving away from the bed, said, “Sure. Just a second.”

Shiro poured Keith a glass of water from the pitcher that was in the room. Shiro walked back to the bed. He set the glass down on the bedside table and then helped Keith sit up. He held the glass as Keith drank from it. When the glass was empty, Shiro set it back down on the bedside table. He turned to look at his brother. 

Shiro asked, "Better?"

Keith said, “Yeah, thanks. Where am I? What happened?”

“You do not remember?”

“Everything is a little fuzzy.”

“What is the last thing you remember?”

_ Lance. I remember Lance. Is he okay? Where is he? I need to find my mate! _

“I remember going to the ball and seeing Lance. Is he here? Is he okay? His father did not take him back, did he? If he has him we need to go get him. I promised!”

“Calm down. He is here. He is sleeping right next to you. He is injured from the duel, but he is going to recover.”

Keith turned his head to look at Lance. “Duel? What duel?”

“You do not remember being in a duel with Lance’s father? 

A fuzzy memory floated to the top of Keith’s memory. “Kind of? Did we win? How bad is Lance hurt, Shiro?”

“You did win by default. His father cast a lethal spell against the two of you. Lance countered it, but ended up being hurt pretty badly. Romelle said it would take a while for him to recover.”

Keith stiffly reached out and touched Lance’s shoulder. “What happened to him?”

Shiro replied, “He damaged some of his magical circuits during the fight.”

“He saved my life.”

“Hmm, he did. If that spell had hit you it would have killed you both.”

Keith, dropping his hand back to his side, whined, “This is all my fault, Shiro. I was supposed to help him. I was supposed to protect him, Shiro, not be the cause of more injuries. What good is a familiar that cannot protect their mage?” 

“You can help him now. Romelle said your bond is pretty damaged from the time you spent apart. You will need to stay with him and be in contact with him in order to help that heal. That, in turn, will help his circuits heal.”

“I knew he would be better off without me.”

“Without you, he would be contracted to some familiar that he did not want that his father had selected for him. Or he would still be enduring abuse at the hands of his father. He needs you, Keith. And I know he wants you. You just need to give the two of you a chance.”

Keith nodded. “But. . .”

“No buts. You are bonded. You need each other. I am not letting you run away from him this time. You promised to be there for him. Now keep that promise.”

Keith turned his eyes away from Lance to look at his brother. “Yes, Shiro.”

Shiro nodded in approval. Shiro and Keith both looked at the door upon hearing someone approach. Shiro smiled upon seeing his familiar enter the room with Romelle. Shiro moved away from the bed. 

Adam, looking at Keith, said, “Keith, I am glad to see you awake.”

Keith just groaned. 

Adam walked over to Keith and checked him over. “Physically you seem fine. “How do you feel?”

Keith replied, “Like I have been hit by a carriage.”

Adam laughed. “Magic fatigue can be pretty rough. We will have to teach you to control your magic better so that this does not happen again.” 

Keith sighed. “I thought I already had enough training. I do not even remember casting that big of a spell during the duel.”

“It was at the end of the duel. You may not have realized that you cast it. You were a little preoccupied with Lance at the time. Now, let Romelle have a look at you to make sure that your circuits are healed.”

Keith nodded. 

Romelle walked over to Keith. “Stay still please.”

Keith replied, “Alright.”

Romelle placed her hands on either side of his head letting her magic find and review his injuries. 

She said, “There is still some slight irritation in your circuits, but that should go away in a few days. I would refrain from using magic unless it is absolutely necessary for the next week or so just to be sure.”

Keith replied, “Alright.”

A look of relief flashed across Shiro’s face. “I am glad you are alright, little brother.”

Keith nodded. “But what about Lance? How is he?”

Adam said, “Just a moment, Keith. We will take a look at him too.”

Adam and Romelle moved to check on Lance. Adam looked over him first. He was glad to see that the wounds and bruises were starting to heal.

Keith looked at Adam. “Well? How is he?”

Adam said, “Physically, he is healing fine. I do not think he will be left with many scars.”

Keith asked, “Scars?!”

Shiro replied, “When he was hit by the lethal magic, his focus absorbed most of it but it exploded. Many of the jewel shards embedded into his body. He will have a few scars from some of the bigger pieces.”

Keith asked, “Why did you not heal him, Adam?”

Adam sighed. “I could not. He needed his energy to heal from the circuit damage he sustained.”

“Oh.” 

Adam said softly, “They should not be too noticeable.”

Keith could feel tears in his eyes. He looked away from Lance and the healers.

_ What did I do to him? This is all my fault. And he is going to have to live with the evidence of my failure on his body. How will he ever forgive me? Will he leave me? I would deserve it.  _

Shiro walked back over to Keith and put his hand under Keith’s chin. 

He lifted Keith’s face until his eyes met his own. “It is going to be alright, Keith. This is not your fault. This is his father’s fault for calling for the duel and for trying to kill you both.”

“But I. . .”

“No buts. This is not your fault.”

Keith nodded as he felt the tears run down his face. “Can I. . . hold him? Please? I need to be as near him as I can.”

Adam said, “It would be better if you rested a while before trying to move more.”

“Please.”

Adam sighed. “Okay. You can hold him for a bit after Romelle is done with his treatment. But you have to be very careful of him, he is still very injured. We will need to wake him up after a while to feed him. You will both probably need rest after that.”

Keith nodded. He watched as Romelle walked over to where Lance lay. She placed her hands on either side of Lance’s head. She closed her eyes, seemingly to concentrate as her magic flowed into his circuits. 

When she was done she said, “There is still a lot of damage. He is going to be in a lot of pain when we wake him up. We should have a pain draught and a sleep elixir ready before we wake him.”

Adam said, “Good idea. I will go prepare them. Shiro, do you think you can help Keith move without jostling Lance too much?”

“I think I can manage that.”

Romelle said, “I will return in a while with the broth.”

Keith looked at Shiro. “How much pain?”

“Hmm?”

“They said he was going to be in pain when they woke him. How much?”

“Quite a bit, I am afraid. We have done this once before, remember?”

Keith shook his head. “Am I going to feel it too?”

“You did last time. It woke you. Romelle said that the bond between you two was pretty open. Which is a good and a bad thing. It means you should be able to speak mind to mind when Lance wakes, but it also means feelings will travel between you two as well. The pain he is in is strong enough to bleed through the bond.”

Shiro helped Keith move onto his side. Keith laid his head gingerly on Lance’s chest, avoiding any of his obvious wounds. He gingerly placed one of his arms around Lance’s waist. Keith sighed in content as he listened to Lance’s heartbeat. The rhythm slowly lulled Keith back into sleep. Shiro smiled as he watched the two sleep. When Adam returned, he sat the medicines on the bedside table and walked over to Shiro. 

Adam said, “They are cute together.”

Shiro smiled. “Can we let them be for a while?” 

“We can let them sleep for a candle mark or so, but the previous sleep elixir should be wearing off soon and Lance will wake whether we want him to or not.” 

Shiro nodded. Adam sat in Shiro’s lap as they watched the boys sleep cuddled together. A little while later Romelle returned with the broth for Lance. She smiled as she looked at Adam and Shiro. Adam, blushing, moved out of Shiro’s lap and stood. 

He said, “We decided to let them sleep a little.”

She nodded. “The contact will definitely help with the bond. It would be better if it were skin to skin.” 

Adam blushed redder. “Well, uh. . .”

Romelle smiled, “But we must keep things proper, yes?”

Shiro laughed. “Hmm, yes. Proper.”

Adam scowled at his mage. Lance began to writhe in his sleep. Adam looked towards the bed just as Keith was awakened by Lance’s movement. 

Keith raised his head from Lance’s chest. 

He blinked a few times and then asked, “What is going on?”

Adam replied, “The sleep elixir must be wearing off and the pain is beginning to bother him. We should wake him soon.”

Keith nodded. “Do you want me to move out of the way?”

Romelle asked, “Do you think you are strong enough to hold him while we do this? Your presence will help lessen the pain.”

“I do not. . . I can try?”

Romelle nodded. “Shiro, would you?”

Shiro nodded and moved towards the bed. He helped maneuver Keith into a sitting position. Adam walked over to Lance’s side of the bed. He gently shook the mage’s shoulder. 

Lance gasped as he awakened. “It hurts. It hurts so much.”

Adam soothed. “I know, Lance. I know. We need you to eat and then you can sleep again.”

Lance nodded as tears started to gather in his eyes. 

Adam said, “We need you to sit up. Think you can do that?”

Lance shook his head. 

Adam said, “We will help you. Keith is here, too. He is going to help hold you while you eat.”

Lance nodded slightly, the pain having stolen his speech. 

Shiro and Adam helped Lance into a sitting position in front of Keith. Keith leaned against the headboard of the bed as he wrapped his arms around his mage’s waist. Keith pulled Lance back against his chest. Lance melted into his embrace. Keith could feel the echo of the pain through their bond. 

_ He must hurt so much.  _

Keith spoke soothingly into Lance’s ear. “It is going to be alright, Lance. I am here.”

Lance sighed and then turned his eyes to Adam, waiting for the next torturous event. Adam reached over to the bedside table and grabbed the pain draught. He held the vial to Lance’s lips. Lance opened his mouth and drank the bitter substance. A cough wracked his frame as his body protested the liquid and the movement. Keith continued to whisper comforting words into Lance’s ear as Lance rested against his familiar’s warmth. 

**_It hurts._ **

_ I know. I am sorry. _

**_Glad you are here._ **

Keith whispered, “I am glad you still want me here after everything.”

**_Will always want you. Please do not leave me._ **

_ Never.  _

Adam placed the empty vial on the bedside table and Romelle handed him the bowl of broth. Adam sat on the side of the bed and, gathering some broth on the spoon, offered it to Lance. Lance sat up straighter and opened his mouth allowing Adam to pour the broth down his throat. The process was long and arduous, but finally, they managed to get all the broth into Lance. Lance was shaking with exhaustion and pain by the time they finished. 

**_Sleep? Please?_ **

Keith asked, “Can he go back to sleep now? He is in a lot of pain.”

Adam replied, “Of course.” 

**_Thank you._ **

_ You are welcome.  _

Lance gave a shaky smile as Adam offered him the sleeping elixir. He drank the medicine and allowed himself to be laid back down on the bed. Lance reached out for Keith’s hand.

**_Will you be here when I wake again?_ **

_ Of course. I told you. I am never leaving you again.  _

Keith curled his hand around Lance’s as Lance slipped back into sleep. Keith curled the rest of his body around his mage, again letting sleep overtake him as well. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Comments and Kudos are always appreciated. I have a [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/auronevardell). I hope to post regular updates on tumblr about the progress of all my current fics.


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